Loki's Labyrinth
by Cassodembreankia
Summary: Babysitting was never my forte, but I knew I messed up when I sarcastically wished my cousins away to the God of Mischief AND HE ACTUALLY TURNED UP! A short(ish) Labyrinth!AU based off a Tumblr prompt. (You don't have to have seen the movie to understand this though.)
1. Chapter 1

Babysitting wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. My cousins were _crazy_. I mean, technically they were my _second_ cousins because my _first_ cousins were their parents. But they were still family and I was born in the awkward middle where my first cousins were fifteen years older than me and their kids ten or more years younger so I was stuck babysitting.

I was in charge of three of the ten wild children on my dad's side of the family for the next six hours—from six in the evening to midnight. On top of that, it was raining, making the kids go even crazier than they already were. At least at around nine I could put them to bed and then just sit with my music and book until their parents got home.

In particular, the oldest of the three was a handful. He was almost nine years old and convinced he was Thor.

Trying to keep up with all of them was a nightmare. The youngest was a little girl who was probably three and _obsessed_ with girly stuff. She was constantly trying to climb up my legs to touch the makeup I'd hastily put on earlier in the morning. The middle child was another boy—but he was almost seven and bigger than his eight-year-old brother. The boys were constantly wrestling, and I had to lug their little sister around on my leg while I tried to keep them from breaking anything. There was a reason I didn't like babysitting.

I was quite relieved when nine o'clock came around and I could clean them up, throw them in their pajamas, and put them all to bed. Once I read the little girl a story about princesses and gave each of the boys a comic book to read to put them to sleep, I went out into the rest of the house and started to clean up. Toys, blankets, crumbs, and random bits of cereal were all over the floor. I started my systematic clean up with I heard a loud _crash_ and the middle brother crying. Sighing heavily, I went into his room. His older brother had snuck in and pushed him out of bed just to be irritating. The crying woke up the youngest and she started crying too in the next room. The oldest was laughing his head off.

I buried my face in my hands and sighed again. "Sometimes I wish that the God of Mischief would just take you away," I muttered.

The house went silent.

My ears perked and I lifted my face out of my palms.

Where the boys had been, there was just a pile of blankets. My mouth dropped open and I ran into the girl's room. Her little bed was empty too, with her sheets ruffled and covers crinkled. I looked back into the middle boy's room. Nothing.

I just stood there in the little girl's pink-covered bedroom staring around. Lightning flashed outside, closely followed by thunder.

The window blew open—throwing rain in my face. I winced and took a step back.

A shadow eased over the floor. When I looked up… I froze.

Standing just inside the window was a man, accompanied by greenish light and little bit of what looked like glitter blowing in the stormy wind. He was tall, pale, with wicked icy blue eyes and sharp cheekbones. His overlong hair was black and he was wearing black leather armor accented with gold and green. There was a terrible smirk on his lips.

I couldn't help it—I gulped.

"You're the God of Mischief," I whispered. The man smirked wider. "Please, I didn't mean what I said. I was just frustrated and annoyed. If it's all the same to you, can I have my cousins back?"

The man looked contemplative for a moment. "How about this," he started, with a very proper British accent. "How about I give you… _thirteen_ hours to get them back?" I stared at him for several moments with my mouth gaping open.

 _"How?!"_ I demanded.

He pointed out the window. "Come and see." I stepped closer to him and looked out.

A rainbow _something_ shot from the sky and grabbed both me and the God of Mischief—Loki. I'd read about him in the book I'd taken with me to babysitting. With a feeling of both pushing me down and pulling me up, I was yanked out of the little sister's bedroom. For several long, agonizingly painful moments, I felt like I was being ripped apart cell by cell and then slammed back together.

Then it was over. Panting, I collapsed onto all fours on the… very strange-looking floor. Regaining my composure, I looked up.

"Asgard," I breathed.

Loki smirked. "Precisely. Your cousins are in the exact center of my Labyrinth—under Asgard. I'll give you thirteen hours to solve it. If you do not, your cousins will stay here… forever. They'll make lovely servants." He pointed to a clock that appeared from nowhere. It had thirteen numbers on the face. "Tick tock, love. Tick tock." With a devilish smile, a shimmer of goldish-green passed over him—and he vanished. The clock went with him.

I stared ahead at the rainbow bridge that appeared to lead straight to the pipe-organ-looking castle. First I had to find the entrance to Loki's Labyrinth. I jogged out of the chamber where we'd… landed(?) and went down the bridge.

After a few minutes and what felt like no progress at all, I very nearly ran into someone—literally. The man was tall and blond with a dark cape hanging off of his shoulders. He'd appeared out of nowhere on the otherwise empty bridge. He was staring off the bridge at the water, seeming not to notice me. "Excuse me?" I piped up.

He gave a start and whirled around, drawing a sword and holding its point uncomfortably near my neck. When he saw the fear on my face he relaxed. "Apologies, maiden. How may I help you?"

"I have to find the entrance to Loki's Labyrinth. Do you know where it is?"

The blond smiled. "Certainly. Follow me." He sheathed his sword with a flourish and started off down the bridge. "My name is Fandral, my lady. What is yours?" he asked. I gave him my name in return, feeling a bit awkward. "A pleasure to meet you. You have a lovely name."

"Thank you. Nice to meet you too," I offered.

Finally we reached a cottage on the outskirts of the city that surrounded the castle. Fandral opened the door and slipped in, dragging me behind him by my hand. He latched the front door closed and lit a torch. "Stand here," he ordered, pointing to a spot on the wooden floor next to a rug that looked more expensive than anything I'd ever seen in my life. I did as I was told. Fandral whisked the rug off the floor to reveal—surprise, surprise!—more floor. I was about to make a very sarcastic remark when he knelt down and pressed a knot on one of the panels. The beams all slid away to reveal a chute. Not even a staircase. "I'll go down first. When I call, follow me. I'll catch you when you reach the bottom. Do you trust me?"

I cleared my throat. "I guess I'll have to," I admitted.

Fandral smirked—but his was less impish than Loki's and more amused. He swished his cape dramatically behind him and dropped down the black hole in the floor. I waited next to the gaping opening, rocking back and forth on my heels and the balls of my feet, waiting anxiously. Every second I was just _standing_ here was a second I wasn't looking for my cousins. _Oh my gosh, their parents are going to kill me,_ I thought morosely. _Thirteen hours missing…_

"Alright! Come on down!" Fandral's voice echoed up the chute.

I bit my lower lip, took a deep breath through my nose, and stepped over the edge. I landed on my backside on the smooth slide and started my descent. I kept my ankles close together and my arms folded like a mummy to my chest so they wouldn't get caught on something on the walls—if there were walls. All I could see was darkness. It was all I could do not to cry out in fear—what if I took a corner too fast and flew out? What if there were no walls and I lost my balance and fell?

The slide dropped out from under me and I _did_ shriek. I was falling! Down… down… down…

"Oof!" I exclaimed as a pair of strong arms caught me. I looked up to see Fandral smiling. Gently he set me back on my feet.

"Welcome to Loki's Labyrinth, love."

* * *

 **End Note: If you haven't seen _Labyrinth_ , I've written this so you don't have to have seen it. If you _have_ seen it, I've filled this with references for you! FYI, in particular for those who have seen _Labyrinth_ and know what it means, the prompt was "Imagine Loki being the Jareth to your Sarah." So that's what I've done! This'll probably be 6 or 7 chapters long. Disclaimer, I own pretty much nothing.**

 **Leave a comment or a question if you have one - and thank you so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

I looked around. I could tell I was standing in a maze of endless corridors just by the air of mystery that the walls seemed to ooze. They were smooth brick and extended as far as I could see in either direction. Instead of ceiling, there was a gray sky, complete with clouds and a blinding sun. I felt despair creep in for a moment—until my eyes caught sight of the castle. It wasn't quite as pipe-organ-y as the actual Asgardian palace, but I could tell it was a castle. Seeing it filled me with indignant anger and determination.

"That's where my cousins are," I whispered.

"Sorry, love, didn't catch that?" Fandral inquired politely.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I was just talking to myself," I replied.

"Alright, then, what are we waiting for?" Fandral started down the path. When he realized I wasn't following him, he turned around and held his hand out for me. "Aren't you coming, my lady?"

"No offense, but you're going the wrong way."

"Pardon?"

"When encountering a fork in the road, most people naturally go right—especially if they're right-handed. People who design mazes know that and most often make the correct path the left path," I told him. I took a step away from Fandral down the left side. "So we should go this way." I pointed down the left.

"Whatever you say, my lady. This is your task—your quest—and I will not get in the way." He started to follow me as I began a very brisk, quick walk down the path to the left. His hand rested on his sword's hilt. I had nothing on me that could potentially be used as a weapon, and that was okay.

We went down several twists and turns, always taking the left paths.

And then we found the doors. They each had a guardian. One was dressed in blue and the other in red. "One of these doors leads to the castle, and the other leads straight to certain death," the guard in blue said. "In order to find out which is which, you can only ask one of us. And one of us always tells the truth, and the other one always lies. That's a rule—he always lies." The one in blue nodded at his red-clad companion.

"I do not! I tell the truth!" the other protested.

"Liar!" the blue one snapped.

I rolled my eyes. I'd seen in a movie once how to solve this riddle. I stepped up to the blue guard and pointed to the red-clad guard. "Okay. Would _he_ tell me that _this_ door leads to the castle?" I asked, pointing to the blue door. The guards looked at each other. It was a fifty-fifty chance but I was pretty sure I just solidified my chance.

"Uh…" the blue guard muttered. "Yes?"

I smirked and went to the red door. "Then this one leads to the castle," I said decisively. Fandral stared at me, looking like a cross between impressed and confused.

"If you say so," the guard in red said sarcastically, stepping aside. I took a deep breath and nodded confidently. I held my hand out for Fandral.

"I do say so," I commented. "Coming Fandral?"

The Asgardian shrugged. "I suppose," he relented, coming after me as the door opened. Because I was always paranoid, I watched the ground in front of me—and therefore saw the gaping hole that someone else would have fallen down.

"Look out!" I called over my shoulder to Fandral as I leapt very ungracefully over the hole. Fandral jumped over it a lot more smoothly than I did when he followed me. "So this path should lead us straight to the castle because this doesn't look particularly like certain death to me." I started the slightly-uphill climb looking down at the floor.

"How did you know how to solve the doors? I've been coming to this maze every so often since I was much younger to find Loki when he wants to be alone and I always get stuck there," Fandral asked.

I shrugged and stepped over a glitter-covered branch. "I saw the solution in a really old movie. I can't even remember what it was but I remember the question to ask to get the answer." We reached a giant log. I sighed. I wasn't exactly the tallest person on the planet, and there was no way I'd be able to get over it on my own. I started to try and jump over it when Fandral hopped up, extended his arms down, and picked me up.

"Allow me to assist you, my lady," he offered, jumping to the other side, putting his hands on my hips and helping me down.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"And what will you do when Loki tricks you and this is not the way to the castle?"

I snickered. "Well, I certainly won't be surprised. I've read stories about him. I know how dangerous and mischievous he is. He's not the God of Mischief for nothing. I don't plan on underestimating him."

"Don't overestimate him either," Fandral warned.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I find that if I overestimate people, I'm always pleasantly surprised when they don't meet my expectations."

"Overestimation is just as dangerous as underestimation."

"Be that as it may, I think I can handle Loki's tricks." At that moment, we ran into someone—literally. I hadn't even noticed that we were walking under a canopy of trees until I bumped my head on someone hanging down from one. "Oi!" I yelped, lurching back. Fandral started laughing as I rubbed my forehead. I opened my mouth to tell him to shut up and stop making fun of me, but he was looking over my head at whatever I hit. I turned back to see, dangling by his ankle, another blond man. He was holding a heavy-looking hammer and wore a red cape. His hair was longer and his beard thicker than Fandral's.

"Apologies, my lady. I did not realize there was company in the Labyrinth," the man remarked. His accent wasn't as British as Fandral and Loki's, but it wasn't American, and it wasn't quite Australian. He sounded like an Australian trying to do a British accent.

I shook my head. "It's okay. I didn't realize there were trees overhead—or that there was someone in them," I replied.

"Allow me to help you down my friend!" Fandral exclaimed. He climbed up to one of the lower branches of the tree, pulled out his sword, and sliced the rope. The much bulkier blond man fell in front of me with a mighty _crash_ —and somehow stood up completely unharmed. He turned to me and gave me a deep bow and a charming smile. He was taller than both Fandral and Loki.

"I am Thor," he introduced. I gave a super-awkward curtsey (considering I was wearing trousers) and supplied my name in return. He smiled, took my hand, and kissed the back of my knuckles. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"You too," I replied awkwardly.

"Now, what brings you to my brother's Labyrinth?"

I sighed. "Loki stole my cousins. I mean, it was definitely my fault, but it was an accident."

"He stole them?" Thor demanded indignantly.

I hung my head. "I accidentally wished them away. I thought it was all just stories. None of it was supposed to be real. I didn't know this would happen. He's given me thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth and if I fail he's going to keep them forever."

"How many hours have passed?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. The second I got down here my watch stopped working."

"Fret not. We will both help you retrieve your family," Thor vowed, nodding towards Fandral as well.

I smiled sadly. "Thanks. I have the feeling I'll need it."

"Really?" Fandral asked. "I thought you would do well on your own. You seem to know more about mazes and Labyrinths than any mortal I've ever met. You beat the red and blue guards at their own game while I stood there like a lunatic."

Thor looked down at me. "Did you really?"

"Yeah."

"Most impressive. I am curious as to how you fare through the rest of this quest of yours. If I may, I'd like to accompany you."

I grinned genuinely. "I'd love for you to come! I'll probably need all the help I can get. Maybe not with the maze itself, but with what's in it." I had the feeling that if I didn't go through the maze all by myself Loki would think I cheated, but I knew his story form. He would have laced the corridors with dangers—and I wasn't able to fight anything on my own—especially none of the monsters from Norse Mythology I'd read.

Thor gestured up the path in the way Fandral and I had been heading. "Shall we, my lady?"

I squared my shoulders. "We shall," I decided.

* * *

 **End Note: So, I got a review from a Guest (Hi! Thanks Mari!) saying, "Keep writing!" So, announcement! This thing is already finished in the writing stage, just not the posting one. And it's very short in terms of some of my other stories on here.**

 **To "RussianAssassin": Thank you! To "blue2dolphin2": Thank you! To "callieandjack": I tried to write it so you don't have to have seen Labyrinth to read this story - but sometimes I slip and add stupid details from the movie so if you're ever confused, let me know and I'll be happy to explain. We'll see if I ever write a silly side-story about the cousins being Loki's servants. Those cousins are based on my actual cousins. To "thisisnotarealaccount": ... Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. That means so much to me to hear that! I mean, honestly, I'm not even kidding. (If you ever want to talk to me about them, feel free!)**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoy! Any questions or comments?**


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, what do we have here?" a creature asked, looming suddenly from the path ahead. I halted in my tracks and looked at the thing. It was _hideous_ —with a beak and warts and fur and feathers. I'd never seen anything like it.

I glanced behind me at Thor and Fandral. They looked just as shocked as I was. I shrugged nonchalantly and turned back to the creature. "Nothing," I answered.

"Nothing?" the creature demanded. "Nothing? Nothing, nothing, tra-la-la?!" As it spoke, a goldish green shimmer passed over it—revealing Loki. I gulped silently, trying to swallow the sudden fear that swept over me, accompanied by a surge of adrenaline. I wanted to take a step back—away—but I felt Thor take a step forward from behind me, helping me find some bravery.

"Yes. Nothing," I repeated, with only the slightest tremor in my voice.

Loki took a few steps closer to me, at such an angle that he backed me up against the wall. He rested one hand on the wall behind me and smirked. "Well then, how are you liking my Labyrinth?" he inquired, voice smooth as silk and seductive as all get out.

I heard Thor and Fandral clear their throats awkwardly.

Ignoring them both, I looked straight into Loki's eyes. "Adequately challenging," I replied bravely.

Loki snickered. "Then should we play a game? Up the stakes?" He gestured behind him, stepping back from the wall, to reveal another big clock with thirteen numbers on the face. The hour hand was on the four. He moved his hand in a circle, moving the clock a single hour forward.

I shrugged, trying to keep the utter panic that hit me like a freight train under control so he couldn't see it. "I'd really rather not," I told him. "I'm fine with the stakes right where they are. My family is in danger and I don't intend to put them in any more danger than necessary." Loki smirked even wider, getting awkwardly close again. I cleared my throat this time and tried to maintain eye contact. I was so uncomfortable.

"Hmm…" Loki looked at me contemplatively. "Alright. For now. Because I like your spunk." He stepped back and the clock turned back to four. "But be warned, next time, I may not be so fair."

"Brother!" Thor started to protest. But with a flash of golden green, Loki was gone. Grumbling, Thor clutched his hammer's shaft tighter. "This isn't right. This isn't fair to you!" he told me. I shrugged and went back to walking.

"What's done is done. Best to just accept it and keep moving," I remarked, starting the trudge up the incline _again_. "So we better get going."

After what felt like two hours of wandering, I stopped to catch my breath. Thor came to a stop right behind me.

After a moment, I realized something was off.

"Where's Fandral?" I asked.

Thor whirled. "Fandral?!" he shouted. When there was no reply, the God of Thunder seethed. "Loki. One of his tricks. He probably cast an illusion on Fandral when we came to that fork in the road, making him think he's following us and we went the other direction." I sighed and leaned against the bricks that made up the eight-foot-wall of the corridor.

"Well, we can't go back. We don't have time. We can come back for him after we rescue my cousins. Please don't leave me all alone."

"Don't worry. He'll be okay. He's gone through worse than Loki's little maze. Let's go."

* * *

Fandral followed Thor and the girl for about two hours until they vanished. "What the—?! _Loki_!" he shouted.

"Don't worry. You'll see them in just a few minutes. I just wanted to give you this, so you can give it to the girl," Loki commented. He was leaned against the brick wall, rolling a peach between his fingers. "It won't hurt her. It'll just help me." He tossed the peach at his friend. Fandral caught it deftly. "And make sure she eats it!" When the blond warrior looked up, Loki was gone. Fandral looked around, but knew better than to think Loki was just hiding behind a tree. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he put the peach into the pouch sling he was wearing and started off down the path.

* * *

"Where are we?" I asked as Thor and I pulled to a stop in front of two door knockers.

"One of Loki's little puzzles," Thor muttered, sounding irritated. Both brass fixtures in front of us were shaped like faces. One had the knocking ring in its mouth and the other had the ring coming out of his ears.

"Welp, they don't call him the God of Mischief for nothing," I remarked. I looked over the doors and the faces. "No clues or anything as to what's behind. No doorknobs or handles and I bet he's enchanted them so that they'll only open if you knock on _one_ of them. Probably can't break them down or knock on them both at the same time." Thor stared at me. My natural reaction was to knock on the left-hand door—the one with the ring coming out of the strange face's ears—because I'd been taking the left paths the whole time. But in the same moment, I felt like I hadn't made any more progress towards the castle and I'd probably been in the Labyrinth for four or five hours. Which meant I had eight or nine left and I felt like I'd barely made any headway.

"Which way?" Thor asked. "This is your task—your choice."

I bit my lower lip in thought and stared between the doors with my arms folded. "Okay," I decided, taking a step forward.

I grabbed the left ring and knocked.

"Let's go," I remarked as the door swung open.

Thor stepped through first—to make sure there was no immediate danger.

As soon as I followed him through, the door slammed shut and he stopped walking. I didn't realize it at first and bumped right into him—again. "Oof!" I muttered, bouncing off the back of his armor, barely padded by his cape. I lost my balance on something and started to fall backwards, arms pin-wheeling in an attempt to regain my balance.

A set of strong, tan hands looped under my arms, catching me and pushing me back up.

"Whoa there, my lady!" a British voice remarked, steadying me. I turned around.

"Fandral?!" I demanded. "How did you get here?"

The blond warrior almost looked guilty as he looked at me. "I followed you two down a right-hand path—which I thought was bizarre anyway—and then you two disappeared and I came to some doors with some brass knock faces and rings. I figured the best idea would be to go to the left because that's the one I thought you would choose. And I only had to look around for about twenty minutes before I heard the door open. Lo and behold, you two showed up."

I smiled. "Well then, welcome back, and let's get going!" I shook Fandral's hand and started through the dark corridor.

We emerged into what looked like a volcano.

"Muspelheim," Thor remarked.

"Excuse me?" I inquired.

"Loki has modeled this landscape after one of the other Eight Realms—the volcanic home of the Dwarves. Muspelheim," Fandral supplied.

I blinked. "Ah," I commented.

Fandral offered me his arm. "Then I suppose we should continue. Your loved ones await you."

I took his arm and we started crossing the volcanic land. There were no paths for the first time—just one long expanse of landscape. I closed my eyes for just a moment and looked down.

"At this rate, we'll never get to my cousins," I muttered.

"Do not lose heart, my lady! All we have to do is keep going!" Fandral said comfortingly, patting my hand. Thor was walking faster than we were and had pulled away by quite a lot. He was looking around at the rocks and black dirt and fiery light when my stomach made a very loud growling sound. I'd eaten lunch at about one in the afternoon earlier and I'd put my cousins to bed at about nine so given I'd been looking for them for four or five hours, it was one or two in the morning and I hadn't had dinner.

Needless to say, I was hungry. But I hadn't really known I was hungry because I was so stressed about Loki stealing my cousins.

Fandral heard my stomach growl and pulled me to a stop—without calling for Thor to do the same. He steadily increased the distance between us as Fandral rifled around in a pouch he was wearing across his trunk. "Here. Something to keep you going," he offered, extracting a small round thing from his sling and holding it out to me.

I smiled. "Thank you," I told him. "But I don't like peaches. I'll be okay."

"Who doesn't like peaches?" Fandral asked, sounding indignant.

I shrugged. "I'm a picky eater," I answered.

"Well, lucky for you, this is Asgard. This thing is magic and will turn into whatever fruit you do like."

That sounded a little farfetched but as I curiously took the fuzzy fruit from my new friend's hand, the fuzz vanished, leaving a red sheen and a slightly different shaped fruit clutched between my fingers. "Now, I do like apples," I commented. "Somewhat. Not actually a huge fan of fruits. I'm really more of a vegetable person—if they're cooked just right."

Fandral shook his head and took a step away from me. "Aren't you a strange mortal?" he teased.

I shrugged again and held the apple close to my lips. "Yeah. I guess I am," I commented, taking a bite.

As soon as I chewed and swallowed, I felt dizziness and fatigue hang heavily over me.

The world started to spin. "Everything's… dancing?" I muttered vaguely.

Before I could do anything, I saw Fandral taking a step back in shock—and I collapsed on the ground.

The apple rolled out of my limp hand and I passed out.

* * *

 **End Note: Hopefully I'll get this all posted soon! It's getting good! (If I do say so myself... teehee.)**

 **To "AvengerFrost": Thank you! I'm happy you're liking it! To "Kelsoc": Thank you! I highly recommend seeing Labyrinth if you can tolerate 1986 computer graphics... I loved it. To "callieandjack": Yup. Lotta perils. Friends are a good thing to have!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~Cass**


	4. Chapter 4

_I wandered through the ballroom, grand snowy white gown hanging heavily on my hips. My hair was done in the most elegant hairstyle I had ever seen, and don't even have the words to describe. It was very curly and twisted with silvery ribbons and what looked like a string of gems swirled up into an up-do on the back of my head. I was wearing a pair of high heels in order to keep the dress from dragging on the ground because it was longer than I was tall._

 _There were people in masks all around. Mine was made of lace and barely covered the area around my eyes. I stepped between two women in green dresses laughing and holding glasses of something fizzy. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I was craning my neck a lot, trying to find something or someone without knowing who it was. I knew I'd recognize who it was when I saw them—that much I knew._

 _I also felt like someone was constantly watching me and just slipping out of my view when I turned to look._

 _There were a few couples dancing on the floor but mostly people milling about, laughing and having fun._

 _When I was nearest the dancefloor, someone emerged from the crowds._

 _I recognized him, but I didn't know why. I knew he was the one I'd been searching for, but I didn't know why. He was tall with black hair and piercing icy blue eyes that seemed to peer straight through me all the way to my soul. He wore a very formal black outfit that looked like a cross between a suit and ceremonial armor. His face was narrow and knife-like and his mask looked like a pure black, satin ribbon with green gems sewn onto it. His cheekbones were sharp enough that I probably could have cut my fingers on them. There was a grin on his mouth that looked devilish and handsome. It was a look that I was inexplicably drawn to. He gave me the slightest of bows before sliding one hand just under my left arm, holding my back firmly, and taking my right hand with his free one._

 _I was very conscious of his dancing being smooth and graceful—whereas I felt_ myself _being slightly clumsier. But he handled my inadequacies well and managed to make my dancing improve just by gentle leading and hints that I would normally have been completely blind to, smoothing out my feet like an iron on wrinkled fabric._

 _There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that was vaguely familiar but I couldn't place where it was from. He was smiling at me like I was the whole world and nothing else mattered._

 _I'm not sure how long we danced but it felt like it was stretching into the eternities—and I felt so comfortable where I was, and so relaxed in his careful but strong grip that I didn't even know if I_ wanted _to leave wherever I was or ever stop dancing at all. I could feel something like exhaustion in the backs of my eyes, but the sensation was so distant—so far removed from the immediacy of this strange, very tall man—that I brushed it off and convinced myself that I wasn't tired at all._

 _He spun me under his arm, sending my skirt swishing out to look even more like a bell than it already did and then twisting around my legs as he took me back into his hold and held me very close to the front of his body. I was staring up into his eyes, easily losing myself in their bottomless blue._

 _I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong—something that was just slightly off. A sense of foreboding I couldn't get rid of even though most of my mind was insisting everything was just as it was. The music in the background was on-key and in-tune. The other people at the ball were wearing masks far more bizarre than mine and the mysterious but devastatingly handsome man's—but they were all acceptable and not very strange all together. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with the scene I was in._

Except I shouldn't be here, _a little voice in my mind whispered_. _I shook my head slightly to clear it and gave the man a small grin._

BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!

 _I turned around wildly to see a clock with thirteen numbers on the face. The hour hand was pointing at the six with the minute hand straight up. I stopped dancing completely and stared at the clock for several long seconds. I felt something urgent in the back of my mind—warning bells were going off—but I couldn't place why._

 _The crowd suddenly seemed very oppressive and pressing in on me. I let go of the mysterious, handsome man and started to push and force my way through the people. I felt the man try to grab me back, but I managed to squeeze my gigantic white skirt between people and slip away._

 _I ran through the ball till I reached the wall. It was faintly curved and seemed to shimmer. I looked around. I could practically hear that large fancy clock_ ticking.

 _Impulsively I grabbed a chair from where it was sitting next to a table and_ threw _it at the wall_.

 _Everything shattered. The wall broke away like glass. I heard screaming and felt wind blow through my hair. It pulled the curls and twists out, leaving it boring and straight the way it usually was. The ribbons and strings of gems blew away and I felt even the beautiful gown being blown off—putting me back in an outfit that seemed much_ righter _somehow even though I still didn't know why_. _I felt myself falling endlessly through the mess of the ball. There were masks and chairs and decorations and what looked like glitter all spiraling around me._

I landed on something soft. What just happened? My mind was all muddled and I had no idea what was going on. I was lying on something that was slightly uncomfortable but at least it had been something to land on. But why did I need to land? What was I falling from? I couldn't seem to remember anything. Sitting up, I looked around.

I was in… a forest? For some reason, that wasn't right. I was supposed to be… around fire? Black dirt? I had vague memories of a fiery mountain but I couldn't remember anything else.

Stumbling to my feet, I caught sight of a woman with glossy dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing armor and had both a shield and a double-bladed sword. "Excuse me!" I called out to her. She was attacking a dummy but when she heard me, she whirled around. "I don't know where I am. I don't know what's happening and I can't seem to remember where I am or why I'm here or how I got here." The hostility in her stance vanished immediately. She hissed something under her breath before turning back to me.

"You're in Loki's Labyrinth."

* * *

 **End Note: I'm a huge sucker for this scene's proper Labyrinth counterpart.**

 **Leave a question or a comment if you have one! Only a few more chapters to go!**


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